Radiohead, XL Recordings, 2021 (archival)

In the earliest days of 2021, I was feeling quite happy with the recent release of McCartney III and Ed O’Brien’s contribution of “Slidin’- EOB Remix” on McCartney III Imagined, but it reminded me how much I missed Radiohead, who hadn’t released anything since 2017’s OKNOTOK 20th anniversary reissue of OK Computer. Then they announced Kid A Mnesia, a 3-disc collection with Kid A on disc 1, Amnesiac on disc 2, and bonus tracks and the singles on disc 3.

Not only that, they were going to release a video game gallery with it! Kid A Mnesia Exhibition is currently free on Epic Games and immediately displays detailed artwork and graphics, and while the recommended system specifications are high, but can be run on far less demanding systems to reach a more broad audience.

On the first listen to this, I was reminded how distinct and impressive “Everything In Its Right Place” is, but I still laugh at “yesterday I woke up sucking on lemon.” Kid A was divisive to fans as even Ed searched for a way to incorporate guitar into the new sound they were gravitating towards, certainly less traditional rock. It was dreamy, beautiful, perhaps a little melancholy. As I continued I was delayed at the track “Optimistic,” as I played it three times before I resumed on to the end of the album and into Amnesiac, but between you and me, I like calling it Kid B.

“Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box” is an impressive opener, my favorite of any of their albums. I’ve always described the sound as industrial, but it’s really just how Phil Selway plays the drums on this song. “Pyramid Song” follows-up, and it’s amazing, as always, but it caused me to wonder if there’s an alternate on the third disc, and being the impatient guy I am, I peeked ahead and saw “Pyramid Strings” on Disc 3. This reminds me of some pretty incredible live performances where Jonny Greenwood might use a violin bow on his Fender Starcaster to create those ominous and beautiful tones.

As I continued on, I sat comfortably, much more familiar with the tracks from Amnesiac than Kid A. If Kid A is a dreamscape, then Amnesiac is whatever happens when I close my eyes at night, aware of the darkness and passage of time, and then wake up in the morning. Amnesiac is often seen as the B-sides of Kid A, but it always seemed to me that we’re seeing Kid A through a looking glass, that Amnesiac is what comes when you take it away (or perhaps it’s just the next rendition of “Morning Bell”?).

This disc may not have anything different from the original release of Amnesiac, but as I get through to “Dollars and Cents,” I’m reminded that some of my favorite tracks in their entire discography come from this album. At the end, I sat through the jazzy and chaotic outro of “Life In a Glasshouse,” and awaited the next track, the first of Disc 3.

The first song appeared to be an angelic rendition of “Like Spinning Plates”, much less nightmare-fever-dreamy than the original. I wasn’t too impressed with anything else until I hit “If You Say the Word,” which I had first heard as a single months prior. Recollecting my first impression, I listened to it at least six times as I drove to school when it first came out, and I was surprised that it took this long to be released, given that it was a Kid A outtake. I liked “Follow Me Around,” but it’s not a surprise it didn’t get onto an album, and is very fitting for the reissue or the single it originally released as. Next up was “Untitled v2,” which is actually the third version in this collection, if you’ve been counting with me, with “v3” as the fourth later on.

As I went through “Morning Bell – In the Dark Version”, I was almost certain this would have gone on Amnesiac, but then everything started to get blurry. No tracks are distinct anymore, like dreams often are, and bleed into one another; the last four songs are one. “How to Disappear into Strings” is something I entirely did not foresee, as “How to Disappear Completely” is already such a magnificent song. I love instrumental music, and to hear the song in strings is a brilliant and great way to end the disc, as there’s an impression of closure when it ends. This reinforces my idea of the abstractness of dreams and how little I can recall the beginning or end, or even sequences. It all blends into one amalgamation, and it just seems right.

As I conclude this reissue, I’m satisfied with the new renditions and the two singles included. Sounds of a bygone time resurrected for our listening enjoyment is a treat, it gives me hope for the future of Radiohead. On a related note, Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner(Sons of Kemet) have recently formed a band called The Smile and have released two singles: You Will Never Work In Television Again and The Smoke, produced by Nigel Godrich, who has worked closely with Radiohead throughout their career and on the Kid A Mnesia Exhibition.